As Raul Castro prepares to hand the reins to the first non-Castro in sixty years, Startup Cuba takes viewers to Cuba, deep into the grittiest, most inspiring startup scene on the planet. Produced by VERV.tv, a new digital media company for the US Hispanic market, the series focuses on the Cuban entrepreneurial spirit and explores how this new generation of more than 500,000 entrepreneurs “resolver” (overcome) in the face of adversity.

“We created this to show Americans that Cuban entrepreneurs do exist and that they have the same dreams for themselves and their families as we have. They are indisputably changing their lives, and possibly their country, as they build their businesses,” said Ken Deckinger, executive producer and host of the series.

“Cubans have this endless ability to re-engineer beauty out of scraps, to rally when situations seem impossible, and laugh no matter what. And the entrepreneurs seem to embody it most. Their creativity and joy are contagious,” says Tamara Park, executive producer and director.

Starting a business in Cuba is not without challenges. Recently, the government stopped issuing new business licenses. Restaurants can’t get matching silverware or sometimes key ingredients; tech startups can’t get stable Internet; and business services such as legal firms simply don’t exist. Still, a new generation of Cuban entrepreneurs and “cuentapropistas” have chosen to leave their government-run jobs for the uncertainty of business ownership.

“The Cuban people can handle anything, nothing stops them. Given this opportunity to become entrepreneurs, they’re going to be the rockstars of the startup world,” says Deckinger.

“They always find a way and their ability to master the workaround is sure to inspire viewers in the US,” added Park.

About Startup Cuba Startup Cuba is a documentary series about cuentapropistas in Havana. In nine, eight-minute episodes, the series connects viewers with both top and everyday entrepreneurs on the island. Shot from a documentary-style perspective, Startup Cuba shows its viewers an authentic POV of Cuban cuentapropistas. Viewers can watch the series at VERV.tv or YouTube.com/startupcuba.

About VERV.tvVERV.tv, launched in September, 2017 is a new digital media company for the US Hispanic market. Experiencing rapid growth since its inception, the company has seen over 1.7 million views of its video content in its first six months. Through social media, the company’s video content on issues of importance to the Latino community, is now viewed by hundreds of thousands of people monthly, and growing.